m kratz



N 4 1930 E M KRATZ TRANSPARENT PAPER MACHINE 4 Sheets- Sheet 1 OriginalFiled Aug. 13, 1925 E. ,M KRATZ TRANSPARENT PAPER MACHINE Nov. '4, 1930.

Original Filed Aug. 3, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 EE Edouard/Y 3422 LJ fit 5Nov. 4, 1930. E M KRATZ Re. 17,854

TRANSPARENT PAPER MACHINE 1 4 SheetsSheet Original Filed Aug. 1 1925 v E[:1 Edouard/Y Z6222? No v. 4, 1930. KRATZ- Re. 17,854

TRKN SPARENI' PAPER MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 13. 1925 4 sheets sheet4 I E- 6 4s Edouard/z 16-422 rinouartn m.

11.1.... Nov. 4, 1930 TRANSPARENT-PAPER MACHINE v Original Illo.1,650,585,

This invention relates to a machine for manufacturing sheet material,more particu- I larly transparent paper, such as thin gelatinecomposition sheets for use in wrapping packages of candy and the like.

The machine includes improved feed mechanism, a novel jell boxconstruction, a suction drive roll, and means for drying the sheethisbelt which I prefer terial. The sheet forming h h h t is mac ine-w ento use in conjunction wit making gelatine composition sheets forms thesubject of a; separate application, a surface for. forming transparentpaper, Serial No. 11,335, filed February 24, 1925. The composition ofthe transparent paper and the process of making the paper is describedin my application for ftransparent a r anda process of manufacture,Seria 0. 10,962, filed February 21, 1925. i

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple, ous manu actureof sheet material, more par.-

ticularly,transparentgaaper, said machine being especially adapte tomaking transparent gelatine composition sheets of great umformity.

With the above and other objects in View as will be apparent, thisinvention consists in the construction, combination and ar-- rangem'entof parts all as hereinafter more fully described, claimed andillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a ma-.

chine embodying my invention,.partly in section and showing a feedmechanism, a jell box and a suction roll in elevation Figure 2 is anenlarged front elevational view of the feed mechanism with parts brokenaway. p

- Figure 3is an enlarged section taken on line III-III of Figure 2,showing the opera tion. Y

Figure 4 is an enlarged broken longitudinal section of the'jell box,showing parts in elevation.

Figure 5 is a broken section taken subst'antially on line of Figure withparts removed.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectiorrtaken g tion of the suction roll, withparts in elevaractical machine for the continupiilfigenteriiig thefrontof the tro' (l i gure the stantially on line VIVI of Figure 4, withparts in elevation and broken.

Figure 7 is an enlarged longitudinal seetion.

.Fi re 8 is an enlar section taken on line II I-VIII of Figure 7 showingthe operation.

. In referring to the drawings especially to Figure 1,there is shown amac ine embodying the principles of my invention in a preferred arm. asa plied to the making of transparent paper rom gelatine composition. Itwi however, be understood that the machine is adapted to make sheetmaterial from substances otherthan gelatine. The machine mm, orcnrea'oo, rumors, assronoa 'ro manna raionuc'rs o0.)

or omoaeo, minors, a conromrron or rumors dated November 88, 1087,Serial Io. 9,970, illed August 18, 1985. Application '!0l' relssue filedApril 88, 1889. Serial Io. 359,140.

includes a supporting frame com rising vertical ostsl and 2 and a platorm 3 supporte by said posts. A feed mechanism, for

eedin a gelatme coinposition solution onto an en ess-sheet forming belt4, is mounted on the posts. 1. The .belt 4 which I prefer to use is afabric belting coated on one side with a s 'al composition coating,described in the a orementioned application, a surface for forming transarent aper, but it is obvious that any be t suitab efor the urpose inview may be used. The feed mec anism iiifiludes a gelatine solutiontrough 5,-adjusta tac ed to the ablglsup orte p revolves partly immersedin the gelatine composition solution. An up r cooperating roll 9 isstationarily supporte by the brackets 10. onthep'osts 1.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 3 the trough 5 comprises .a rectan 11having a semi-cylindrical 'ning 12. said lining-12 is made offsheetmetal, soldered at by the brackets;.8 on theposts lar metal box ,i

own into said trough; 5-,...where it Y its ends to the box ends, withits sides turned between the lining 12 an box 11 serves-as an air jacketto retain the heat of the gela-' I tine composition solution. Thegelatineso lution 14 is fed into theftrough 5 through a 2). The level ofthe solution in box m be controlled by an automatic float or-a ve at-(not"shown -A drain 16 having a valve 17 is provid in the bottom of thetrough for draining the solutionfor washing out Thetrough is so portedon a pair 0 vertically adjustabl ratchet arms 18 slidably mounted in thebrackets 6. of ratchet wheels19 connected by a 20 engage with saidratchet arms 18 to raise or lower the trough. The ends of the rod 20 areadapted to be engaged by a crank for manually raising or lowering thetree The feed roll 7 is journaled in a of rings 21 slidably mounted on apair of horizontally slidable ratchet arms 22, said armsbeitlcihgotgrooved inthe brackets 8. A pair of re wheels 23 rigidlyconnected by a rod 24 serve to slide said ratchet arm in and out.Affinelgsscrew alllljgstm'cnlzi .com a 'ro 'attace tosai ratchz t armsand s c r ews 26 threaded in said I and rotatably secured at their veends in said bearings 21, rmits tr?! ildzidgfin adjustment of each legof the r ement urposes. e upper roll 9 is urnaled in e stationar bearin10 to the 1.- It wi be noted that the upper is lon r than the feed rolland thattheaxis of t e u per cooperroll 9 is verticall offset 111 theaxis of fed roll (,po t lateral movement of the roll 7 changestherelative distance between the surfaces of said rolls, for a purpose nowto he explained. As the feed roll is Involved (by mechanism not shown)it picks up a film 27 of gelatine comtion onits surface. In theoperation the roll is moved close enough to the upper roll so that theendless belt 4H1! around 7 saidupper roll contacts the of, gelatin'ecomposition, -"some of which willadhere to the belt in a thin film 27.As the belt travels in an op 'te direction from the upper surface offeed roll l, the gelatine compositionfilmtendstobuildu infront ofthebelttoformafillet28, ede thofthis aswellasthethickness of e film27' onbe] will dependlargely upon the o the gelatine composition solu-- vimosiI tion. with a given viscosity it is still to adjust the distancebetween thafeed roll and thebelt so as to deliver margin" on each ed ofreventing the solfiion e back side'of the belt. travel is guidedlaterally so latine film were apties would also arise from the curlingof the belt during the drying operation. As shown in Figure 1, the beltfrom the feedin or coating mechanism over a roll 29 throug a jell box30. Said jell box is supported b the latform 3. The construction of theje box 15 bestshown by reference to Figures 4 to 6 inclusive. The roll29 is 'ournaled in a pair of brackets 31 su orted y bolts from the frontend of the e box. The jell boxis made of sheet metal in the form of arelatively long, rectan lar shallow box. This box isdivided into t reehorizon: tal com artmen'ts, an upper air 3 ace 74 and a lower airspace32 both open at e front end, and an intermediate water-tight chamber 75,The box comprises a bottom 76, a cover or p up hood 36 intermediatehorizontal walls forming the bottom wall 33 andtop surface 38 of thechamber 75, and vertical side walls 34 and end walls 35 'oining thehorizontal walls 76, 33 and 36. T e top surface 38, however does notextend clear out to the side walls 34 but is secured to shoulders 37extending the length of the box and opening into said chamber Thisarrangement gives chamber 75 a .U- shapedcross section. Said surface38is crowned longitudinallyfizs shownin Figure 4, for a purpose hereinar set forth. A plurality of transverse'baflle plates 39, each having aflanged end and flanged up r and lower edges, are attached at their en34 of the box, at their up r flanged edges'to the under side of the surace 38 and at their lower flanged edges to the bottom wall 33. I Saidbafiles' are sta ered, as is common in such construction. e attachedends of the bafile plates extend up into the hollow shoulders 3 r toconform with the inner contours of to the sides said shoulders but donot form water-tight joints with said shoulders. The baflles serve tostrengthen the jell'box and especially to prevent the surface 38 frombuckling.

The jell box serves to chill the liquid gelatine composition film on thebelt 4 as it comes from the coatingrmechanism. For this purcold brine ema refrigeratin plant is introduced through a pipe 40 inthe bottom of thebox into'the chamber at the further end thereof. -The brine circulatesbetween the bma plates 39 to the front end of the box y where it passesout of the box through an elevated outlet 41 in one of the shoulders 37.

. In circulating, the brine carries with it a cer- 'tain amount ofentrapped air. This air must. be relieved or else it will form airpockets under the surface 38, thereby preventing the roper exchange .ofheat through saidsurace. Vents 42 comprising a short nip Is and stopcock are accordingly placed near t e midv die of the box in the top ofthe shoulders 37 Further, the are perforated as at 80 to men allow allof the air entrap d in the shoulders 37 to pass from either an of thebox toward the center and there to be vented through the vents 80.

Inthe operation, the belt 4 carrying the liquid film passes over and incontact with the surface 38 of the jell box. The cold brine extracts theheat from the gelatine solution by conduction of the heat through thebelt 4 and the crowned surface 38. The reason for crowning the surface38 is now apparent, for if it were perfectly level the belt would tendto contact it tangentially at only two points, the front and the rear,with the result that the rate of conduction ofthe heat would bematerially reduced. The eflicienc'y of the heat transfer would also bereduced if :1?

pockets were allowed to form under-the su face. Furthermore, suchpockets cause dcfrosted s ots on the upper side of the surface 38directly above the air pockets and ridges of ice accumulated where thecondensed water vapor freezes beyond the defrosted spots. These ridgesof ice raise the belt and cause unjelled streaks in the gelatine film.As 'a further cooling means, cold air is blown against the surface ofthe gelatine film as the belt passes through the jell box. Anair fan 43,connected by piping 44 to the rear end of the space 32, draws the coldair out from this space and blows it through a system of piping 45 to apipe 46 extending transverse of the jell box near the rear thereof andbetwen' the surface 38 and the hood 36.

Said pipe 46 is provided with rectangular slots 47-having air deflectingfingers 47 on the inside of the pipe which direct the air currentsagainst the film on the belt. By this arrangement the effective coolingvalue of both theupper and lower surfaces ofthe jell box is. efiicientlyused.

, The cooling of the gelatine composition solution in the jell box mustbe sufficient to bring the solution below its jelling or hardening temerature in order that the film may lie-perfect y set'before it. isdried. This is important as otherwise the film' would flow on the beltand form ridges on its surface in the drying'operation. The desi of theell box is such that the film may i e quicky chilled, with the resultthat the machine may be run at high speeds.-

From the jell box the belt 4 passes over a suction roll 48-journalled inbearings 49 bolted to the platform 3. As best shown in Figures 7 and 8,the suction roll 48 comprises a hollow cylindrical shell having perform.tions 50 through which the sucked air passes.

The roll is driven by any suitable source of power (not shown). One ofthe journals 51 is hollow to admit a perforated pipe 81 extending thelength of the roll and supported at the other end in the other journal.A suction fan 53, connected to said pipe by piping 54, furnishes thesuction for the roll.

Said-roll is internally divided by longitudinal partitions 55 secured tothe. pipe ,52 and extending radially outward to contact the I 81 liewithin the 6.

applied to revolve the suction roll and thel suction fan is started, thesuction will draw the belt down against the surface of the suction rolland the frictional or suctional contact thus provided is suflicient tohold the beltfroin slipping. The belt is therefore pulled around as theroll revolves. But after the belt passes beyond the second partition 55asitis no longer subject to the suction action, it leaves the roll andcontinues in its normal path. The suction roll th'us serves tocontinuously pull the belt through the machine. An ordinary driven rollor a series of rolls in place of thesuction roll would not afford thenecessary frictional drag to pull the belt around, nor could a pair ofrollers grip ing the belt on both sides .be used because 0 the gelatinefilm on the j top side ofthe belt. QA suction belt may be used in placeof the suction roll in case it is found advisable.

.From the suction roll the belt a system of traveling conveyers and issupported by them while it is festooned and dried. The mechanismconveying and festooning the belt includes a pair of spaced,

short, inclined endless chains 56 travelling over lower sprocket wheels57 and upper sprocket wheels: 58, one of said rolls being driven. Saidchains have coordinating spaced lugs, or brackets 59 which ick vup tubes60 one at a time from a'box-61 olding said tubes. The arrangementwhereby only one tube at a-time is picked up by the brackets 59 is oldand need not be explained. In passing upward the tubes pickup the beltfrom its under side and carry it along, the belt lying between the twochains and a ing infest'oons over said tubes. After pass- .ing over thetop of the sprocket whee s58 the tubes slide over a pair of spaced armsfall from the conveyer 63 at its farther end. 1.30 I

passes onto i continuous.

Supporting] rolls 67 to 72 inclusive sup rt an turne belt in its returnto the eeding mechanism. At'some point, as at roll 67, the dried filmmay be stripped mechanically from the belt and wound up on a shaft in acontinuous sheet to form a roll 73. The belt may then be recoated andthe process thus be made i It is thus seen machine for the continuous"manufacture of thin sheets of transparent paper from gelatinecomposition or other suitable sheet material has been provided. Thenovel adjustable feeding mechanism insures a sheet of uniform thickness,varying less than 1/10,000of an inch across the width and tion,

the patent length of the sheet. The use of a fabric belt gives a sheetof paper possessing much greater stren h than sheets made on rigid,noncontractible surfaces. The jell box providesquick jelling or settingaction so that the machine may be run at high speeds. The suction rollaffords the necessary drive for the belt in a simple inexpensive way.The

000 rating conveyers provide a simple met 0d of carrying the belt alongin compact form through the drying chamber.

' I am aware at many changes may be made, and numerous details ofconstruction may be varied through a wide ran e without. 'departinglfromthe principlesof t is invenand use limiting thereforedo not pu tedhereon, 0t erwisethan necessitated y the prior art.

I claim as my invention: 1. An apparatus for making sheets, saidapparatus comprising a vertically adjuste trough for containing asolution of a material to form the sheet, a horizontally movable feedroll partly immersed in said so-' chamber, a belt carrylng'a lution, anupper roll in cooperation with said feed roll, a ell box, a drivensuction roll, a drying tunnel, and an endleswbelt having a surface towhich said sheet, material will not stick-Qwhen dry, said belt beingadapted to be drawn by said suction roll between said i iooperatingrolls to pickup said solution to orm a film on said I jell box to hardensaid film.

surface, and over said 2. In a sheet forming machine,-a 'e ll box havinganv up r and lower air s ace and a chamber there tween, a cooling uid insaid chamber, a crowned upper surfaceto said of material to form thesheet in contact with said surface, and means for drawing cold air fromsaid lower air space and blowin said cold g1; into said upperalrspacefor c Hing-the 3. In'an a paratus of the class described, avertically a ustable vtrough for containing "*asolution of a ma i folmsheet; a

lower adjustable rollrevolving partly immersed in said solution, anupper stationary that a simple, practicalu n 'which the roll cooperatingwith said lower roll but out of contact therewith, a jell box, a drivensuctionroll, means for appl suction to said roll, and endless sheetformm belt passing between said cooperating rolls in contact with saidupper roll only, topick up a film of said solution from said lower rolland passing over said'jell box to chill said film, said belt beingpropelled by suction contact. with said revolving suction roll, meansfor supporting said belt in festoon arrangement for dryin said film, andmechanical means for stripping said film from said belt.

' 4. In an apparatus of the class described, a sheet machine comprisingan endless sheet forming belt' having a surface from which said sheetmay be readily stripped when dry, a feed mechanism for coating saidsurface with a film of a material to form said shed, a jell box forhardening said tunnel for drying said film, and a suction roll fordriving said endless belt.

5. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with an endless belt having a' surface adapted to theformihg of sheet material thereon, of meansf'or applyin a film of. saidmaterial to said I It, a jail x for cooling and setting said' film onsaid belt, means for drying said film on said belt, means for strippingsaid film in sheet form from said belt, and a suction roll for drivingsaid belt through said mhchine.

6. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a belt carrying a film of material to form a sheet, ofa 0x containing ening said film by contact of said belt with arefrigerating fluidfor chilling and hardthe upper surface of said boxand means for 7 drawing air cooled b contact'with the under side of saidbox an blowing said co (1 air against said film for further chilling thesame. I

' 7. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination with an endless belt having a surface to which agelatinecomposition film will not stick when dry, of means for applyinga gelatine composition film to said belt, means for chilling said filmto set the same, means for drying said film and. festoon means on whichsaid belt may travel during the drying process.

v 8. Ina machine for making thin gelatine composition sheets including atraveling belt elatine com sition is a pted to be sprea a hollow chillbox'hav ing a crowned upper surface for contact with said belt, thewalls of said box defining-a chamber for the circulation ofarefrigerating fluid andmeans for effecting a circuitous fiow of saidfluid throu h said box.

9. In a'machine of t eclass described, a chill device com risin elevatedsi e we ls am? a depressed crowned upper surface therebetween, a coversecured to the top of said side walls forming with a hollow box havingsaid crowned surface an air chamber, an oriover saidcrowned u r'wallrtion-an spaced therefrom and n i eans for chill device comprisin..walls of member.

' ficed pipe transversely positioned in one end of said'chamber andmeans connected with said pipe for blowing air through said pipeorifices out over said crowned surface.

10. In a machine of the'class described, a chill device, comprising ahollow box, the walls of said box defining a chamber for the circulationof a :refrigerating fluid and air chambers above and below said fluidchamber andmeans for ,drawing air from the lower chamber anddistributing said air in said upper chamber, said air being cooled bycontact with the lower .wall of said fluid chamber.

11. In a machine of the class described, a chill device, comprising ahollow box, the walls of said box defining a chamber for the circulationof a refrigerating fluid and air I chambers above and below said fluidcham ber, means for drawing air from the lower chamber and distributingsaid air in said upper chamber, said air being cooled by conoutermosttop walls of the U-shaped chamslots thereof for distributing air drawnfrom beneath said chamber into the space so formed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub- Ind., county, Lake.

scribed myname at Ga EDOU M. KRATZ.

tact with the lower wall of said fluid chamber and means in said fluidand lower air chambars for efiecting a circuitous flow of the fluid andair in the respective chambers.

12. In a machine of the class described including a travelinbeltacarrying material to be congealed, a ill H omprising a hollowmember, the walls of said member defimnfri'geg: bar for the circula" fthtion of a ri ting ui a-Dortiono e upperw being dep and longitudinallycrowned for contacting said belt.

13. Inamachineoftheclassdescribed,a chill device, comprising a hollowmember, the walls of said member for the circulation of a re rtion oftheupper wall being. depressed and ongitudinally' crowned, a'-. coverexten cooled air into the space so formed.

14. In a machine of the class described a the'circulationbia tion oftheupper w'all p longitudinally crowned, a cover extending over saidcrowned upper wall portion and a hollow membe -,6

11mv defining chamber fluid, a

/ spacedtherefrom and means for distributing 1 air drawn from saidchamber'into the space so formed.

15. Inan apparatus for j chill device comprising a v I H tition from thebottom 'wall to form an air c amber therebetween, a depressedwall'forming with said partition a U-sha brine chamber e xtending'thelength of, the 7 box, a cover for said depr top' wall forming therewitha second air-chamber and means for circulating air from the bottom airchamber to and through the top air chamber,

16. A device as in claim wherein the and means including a

